Elspeth Van Ruys

I made a reservation to come here with a friend. We were celebrating various milestones (good and bad) and I was looking forward to good pastries and a great atmosphere. We had a 3pm reservation which was late - but seeing as it was a three day weekend it seemed fine. When we arrived we told them we were there for pastries. I had been dreaming of the boulangerie basket! I couldn’t wait to have it. Upon being seated we were not informed about any food that was unavailable nor any kitchen closing times. After a bit, once we went to order, our waiter told us there was no more boulangerie basket! I was so sad! I asked what possible substitutions could be made. He didn’t seem to know, as he said many of their pastries were out. We ordered what was available and the food runner brought us two, even though the waiter had said that flavor had been out. It wasn’t a problem but a bit strange. We ordered a cheese plate and croque Madame. The cheese plate was underwhelming for $35 (very small amount) but I was more disappointed that the Brie was very cold. My understanding is that soft cheeses should generally be served at room temperature. We were also not given any kind of knives or cutlery for the cheese tray. We asked for something and received a steak knife - not horrendous but not ideal for slicing cheese. The Comte was also very difficult to slice with a serrated knife. The salad with the croque Madame tasted ok but the greens were extremely wilted and it was under dressed. This wasn’t disqualifying but seemed surprising given the restaurant's reputation. The proverbial cherry on top was when we asked for a second round of cocktails. Our server informed us, at that moment, that the kitchen and bar were both closed. The bar had apparently closed an hour before! In my experience, there is often “last call” and also a notice from the server that the kitchen will be closing. We received neither. We were not the only table - others were still being served food (one even received a large birthday cake). I have no interest in being an annoying patron who overstays one’s welcome, but advanced notice would have been great in allowing us to time our meal. We were also excited to spend more of our hard earned money at Lafayette! Once we were told of the closure, we felt pressure to leave so as to not be a nuisance. In isolation, none of these experiences would have been a huge problem, but the combination of so many unfortunate moments left us feeling disappointed. I had been looking forward to this brunch but left feeling deflated and as though I’m unlikely to return. The pastries were divine, but next time I’ll skip out on table service.